The History of Capitalism in Mexico: Its Origins, 1521-1763.

For two decades the best single economic history of colonial Mexico, Enrique Semo's History of Capitalism in Mexico has also long been the standard to which many a junior Mexican historian has aspired. Until now it has regrettably remained only in Spanish, thus out of reach of English-only readers. Translated ably by Lidia Lozano, this edition boasts a lapidary new introduction placing the book in the context of more recent work on capitalism in Mexico and subsequent controversies on the world system. Simply put, Semo's thesis places the appropriation of labour and tribute at the heart of the Spanish economy in the New World. Extracting tribute from Indian communities and …